The youth-led Jatiya Nagorik Party has announced its 153-member committee comprising 10 key student activists who played significant roles in the anti-discrimination movement that led to the fall of the Awami League government.
The party's formation was announced on Friday afternoon at a grand rally on Manik Mia Avenue, in front of the National Parliament Building in Dhaka.
Below are the newly appointed leaders:
Convener: Md Nahid Islam
Nahid Islam, a former adviser to the interim government, has been appointed as the convener of the Jatiya Nagorik Party.
He was announced as the "Imam" of the July uprising before being called on the stage at the party's formation assembly on Friday.
He was a key coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) and played a central role in the anti-quota movement of 2024.
His activism dates back to the 2018 quota reform protests, and he was later involved with various student bodies, including Gonotantrik Chhatra Shakti.
He was appointed as an adviser to the Interim Government of Bangladesh on 8 August 2024 and was appointed as an adviser to the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology on 9 August.
He was also appointed as an adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 16 August 2024.
He resigned from the position of adviser to the Interim Government on February 25 to join the Jatiya Nagorik Party.
He has been recognized in Time Magazine’s prestigious “TIME100 Next 2024” list.
Nahid was born in 1998 in Fakirkhali, near Dhaka.
He completed his SSC from Dakkhin Banasree Model High School in 2014 and HSC from Government Science College in 2016.
He later enrolled in the Sociology Department at Dhaka University, completing his honours in 2022 and currently pursuing his master's degree.
Senior Joint Conveners: Samanta Sharmin, Ariful Islam Adib
Samanta Sharmin and Ariful Islam Adib have been appointed as senior joint conveners.
Samanta Sharmin was the spokesperson of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, a platform, which was formed by the student leaders of July revolution.
She actively participated in some movement under the banner of Bangladesh Chhatra Federation.
Adib was the general secretary of Chhatra Odhikar Parishad and in 2023, he served as the coordinator for the Anti-Fascist Students' Solidarity, which was established through the collaboration of 16 student organizations.
Adib also participated as a member of the Liaison Committee of SAD.
On the professional front, Adib worked as a freelance writer for various national newspapers from 2016 to 2019. Since 2020, he has been employed as a broadcast journalist and multimedia journalist across different media organizations.
Member Secretary: Akhtar Hossain
Akhtar Hossain, a Dhaka University law graduate, has been named the party’s member secretary.
He gained recognition in 2015 for staging a solo hunger strike against question leaks in university admission tests.
He later became a leader in the 2018 quota reform movement and was elected social services secretary in the 2019 Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) elections.
He formed the Ganatantrik Chhatra Shakti, an organization that led the quota reformation movement from the beginning and Nahid Islam and other key leaders were with him.
Senior Joint Member Secretaries: Tasnim Jara, Nahida Sarwar
Tasnim Jara and Nahida Sarwar Niva will serve as senior joint member secretaries.
Both were active in the civic platform Jatiya Nagorik Committee, which emerged from the July uprising.
Tasnim Jara by profession is a doctor but famous for social media activities.
Chief Coordinator: Nasiruddin Patwary
Nasiruddin Patwary, a Dhaka University marketing graduate, has been appointed as the chief coordinator.
He first gained attention in 2020 with a sit-in protest against border killings.
He was a key strategist in the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
Joint Coordinator: Abdul Hannan Masud
Abdul Hannan Masud will serve as the joint coordinator of the party.
He previously served as the chief organizer of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) and actively connected the educational institutions during the post July uprising period.
Chief Organizer (Southern region): Hasnat Abdullah
Hasnat Abdullah, an English student from Dhaka University, will oversee party activities in the southern region.
He was the convener of ADSM and staged a hunger strike against corruption at Dhaka University.
In recent time Hasnat Abdullah got familiar as a known face because of his heroic role and speeches during the pre and post July uprising period.
Chief Organizer (Northern region): Sarjis Alam
Sarjis Alam, a Zoology student from Dhaka University, has been named chief organizer for the northern region.
A former student leader, he was known for his debating skills and was actively involved in ADSM.
He was detained along with other coordinators in July 2024.
